Soon we will have a content distribution network (CDN) which will enable many more viewers to access our game drives on a daily basis. In the mean time we have noticed that people are staying logged on for extended periods of time even when not at their computers. This is preventing other viewers from watching. Therefore, before each drive we will reset the video server thereby giving everyone a chance to access the 80 available slots.
Good luck and we hope you now get to join to get us on safari.
To the Anonymous poster above me, While I understand your frustration to get on the drive, I think it is unfair for you to be so angry at WildEarth.
Yes you do pay for your internet service but NOT so you can watch things like this. Lots of different live webcam sites charge a price to view their camera.
This is a FREE service Wildearth provides for us. It costs them a lot of money to give us this look into their world.
Instead of telling them to pay more to increase the free service they give us, maybe you should try to log on to the feed closer to the game drive time and not so much before it so that you don’t get bumped off?
As my Grandmother use to say, “Never bite the hand that feeds you”
HELLO ,I THINK WHAT YOU DOING IS SO UNFEAR I TRY FOR HOURS TO ON AND JUST RIGHT BEFORE THE DRIVE BEGENS I DO GOT ON ONLY TO HAVE YOU BUMP ME OFF AGAIN. I UNSTAND THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO GET ON ,BUT WHEN IT TAKE HOURS TO GET AND THEN YOU PEOPLE BUMP US OFF AGAIAN IE NOT RIGHT.I PAY FOR MY INTERTNET SERVICE SO THAT I CAN WATCH THINGS LIKE THIS.IF YOU CAN NOT HANDLE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO GET ON THEN YOU SHOULD TRY TO INCREASE YOUR SERVICE. I HAVE THE USED OF ONE HAND AND IT IS VERY HARD FOR ME TO KEEP CLICKING JUST TO WATCH YOUR DRIVE, AFTER I HAVE TRY FOR A LONG TIME TO GET ON AND THEN YOU BUMP ME OFF ONLY FOR TO TRY AND GET BACK ON AGAIN. AND YOU CALL THIS FEAR?
Well said Bushnut..Thank You!
From a long time Bomite!.
Father’s Day
I read the reaction of Dean Roberts and I think it is a shame that he has not been able to log in as yet to see the game drive presented by his children.
Why don’t we give him a present for Father’s Day and do not log in on Sunday June 17 until 6.45 CAT. That should give him ample time to connect to the game drive and give Nick and Helen time to wish him a happy Father’s Day.
Greetings to all of you.
It would appear that I have contributed to some angst among some here by posting anonymously and I apologise for that because I didn’t know it was not the done thing. I do not need anybody’s pity but a polite explaination re the signing would have been nice, instead of an attack.
I do not know any of you who have signed your names. I just posted my thoughts, not expecting to hurt anybody. My not signing my name at the end of my post was an honest mistake as I’m not up on the etiquet of blogs. This was my post:
Anonymous said…
I managed to get to see my first drive (this morning CA time) and despite the best efforts of WE, there were a few glitches. Never mind. At least I got to connect for the drive for the 1st time in weeks and for that I am truly grateful.
ps I think WE has made it fair now to everybody. I find it hard to reason why somebody would hog the stream when they’re not at their computer. If you have 2 hours to sit and click then you should have 2 hours to sit and watch.
June 13, 2007 1:15 PM
I do not belong to any sites mentioned but I do enjoy watching the cams when I can and posting my thoughts on this blog was meant as a positive and never as a negative.
Keep up the good work WE team. Your efforts are appreciated by the silent majority I would be guessing.
Diane H
(Australia)
i also have PS for you all.
Have you ever stopped to think how lucky we are and what a privilege it is to see ONE WildEarth cam window that is capable of showing us any one of 3 cams..and all are live streaming video with sound. When the problem cam up with the drive cam’s camera..you still had 2 other views being shown and were LIVE STEAMING Video with sound.And those two cams also are controlled by the Director in the Control Center for almost all of the daylight hours that we see them online!! (Yes, there is a problem with the sound now and then. ) For goodness sake , people these cams are out in the African BUsh..what is it you all expect from them? There is no guarantee given with ANY webcam out in the bush or elsewhere. Not even National Geographic cams have this technology at this time..of 3 cams in one window.
Imagine the time, the cost, and ingenuity and skill that it took for the original owners of AfriCam to set up the original two cams from Djuma RESERVE, the very first live Djuma Safari cam (no, it was not video back in July, 1999 when it started), the Hluhluwe Safari cam. the Leopard cam (where africam virtual ranger followed Kim Wolhuter around while he filmed his Leopard TV shows for NatGeo channel) the Polar Bear cam (with a heater in the cam housing so it wouldn’t freeze??!!),the Bakubung cam, the Kruger cams, (Satara and Orpen cams, which are now seen on the sanparks.org site) the Tau Game Reserve cam, the Osprey cam, the Bald Eagle cam, The BlackEagle cam, the Etosha cams, the Kwa Maritane cam, the three Safari cams (the PilanesbergTV streaming/sound cam, the MalaMalaTV live streaming/sound cam and the Mashatu live streaming/sound cam), The bahamas cams, the shark cam, the shipwreck cam, the turtle cam, the beaver cam from Minnesota, the Sacred Ibis cam, etc. etc. i could go on and on. But most importantly that the producer of WildEarth is one of the two original men who founded that origianl AfriCam site and had a hand in bringing all these cams to us out here in cyberspace. I must be boring those who believe that what we are witnessing today just magically dropped out of the sky and into our laps for us to view.
Shame on you , anonymous posters! for spreading your misinformed opinions on these forums. All opinions are welcomed on every forum that i see, but only if they are the Truth. Most that see are merely hearsay or misquotes.
I just heard Helen say on the drive..that a new High Definiton camera is being flown in for use on the game drive. You can’t get technology more current that that!
Elaine
13 June, 2007
Elaine,
Don’t take all the comments too much to heart. You did a great job of explaining all the relevant facts about the site. I am not defending anyone being offensive as there is no excuse for being rude, but I can vouch for how frustrating it was to never be able to connect. Now that the server is being reset things have certainly improved.
The only comment that I have to make to the people that are now upset because they can no longer hog the server for 24 hours at a time is….It’s called sharing!!!!
Snooks
I guess all I can say is that it takes all types to make this the world we live in!! How boring it would be if we were all the same – but – why have we lost the sensitivity of exchange just because we no longer have an actual “face” on the internet? Why do we find it so easy to use language that hurts just because we are not face to face? Anonymnity – the mask of confrontation and anger – with no consequences! How awful.
I am not ashamed to say who I am – my name is Dean – or – bushnut as you all know me. I have also been involved with Africam past and present – and the wonderful folks at Djuma who support my Rotary projects in the villages in their communities. I am also Helens mother and now Nicks mother-in-law. So – when you attack the folks at WE – you also attack me. Remember that.
Be thankful to have this service, be thankful that you can share an experience that takes such effort and financial backing to make it happen for you. Be patience with the process. You just have no idea how much is involved and the agony and ecstasy of making this happen so deep in the bush.
I have still to be able to connect to one of the drives – we on the West Coast of Canada are always too late to get on the landi – but thats OK – I will get my turn someday. The only way I get to see my children doing their drive is to watch the videos that are posted on YouTube – and how thankful I am that someone cares enough to do this for us.
So please – let the anger and rhetoric go. Just sit back and enjoy the drives when you can and support those that are trying so hard to make this experience possible for all of you.
My best regards to you all.
Dean Rohrs
Can I ask whether WE actually approve these messages before they are posted? Some of them are rude towards either WE team or others, and others have lies in them.
And to those posters: everyone is entitled to their opinion, but stick to context, do not lie and be mature enough to sign your name.
These things are putting a downer on the experience, and I wouldn’t be suprised if WE/Djuma decide it’s all just not worth it.
Nick, Helen, Jan, Hayley, Pieter, Emily, Rodney and everyone else involved: keep up the amazing work, we know the problems concerning getting the drive to us are nothing you can do anything about. Thank you so much for all your hard work.
I pity you ‘anonymous’ posters. Ashamed to post your own names? I really truly feel sorry for you. You have no idea what is going on here. You have no idea what it takes to set up a cam like WildEarth is showing you. and as for the anonymous poster who can’t express their own thoughts? how brave of you to post someone else’s opinion. Or maybe anti-Djuma, anti-WE posts are all being made by one person?.. Don’t forget , the suggestion to cut off the server to allow others an equal chance to view the cam and mostly the game drive..came from people / or persons posting to the Djuma/WE cam discussion on the AfriCam watering hole topic. It did not originate with WildEarth..but from cammers.
You get no advertising on this WildEarth cam site. Djuma was the first site to say yes, to having webcams way back in 1998. Who knew back then what it would grow into on the Internet. Do you realize if they had said NO to the original founders of AfriCam who had asked numerous other reserves to host their cams.. there might be no Africam or other webcams today? No WildCam.com site, No Satara or Orpen cam on the sanparks.org site, no WildEarth cam? maybe if you had been there, viewing only one lone Still cam coming to us out of the bush in SA..maybe you’d have more respect and understanding for their efforts of all the succession of owners or groups of owners to bring it and many other webcams to us today.
BUT they/Djuma had a website for their guests and clients long before there ever was an AfriCam site. And had no outside advertising ever on their site , just as they do not have advertising now. Why do people have websites? lol Look around the Internet, people out there have websites to advertise their products and their business.
As for WildEarth and Telkom Media not preparing for a lot of viewers?, who in their right minds in a business would go out and spend that kind of money that a distribution network costs, before knowing what the response would be. No other website has, EVER.
And as for Africam today? It is through the work and tireless effort and experimenting of those that have gone before on AfriCam since its inception in 1998, that it has what it has today!
I really can’t believe how nasty and ungrateful these anonymous complainers are..for something that doesn’t cost them one RED CENT. your attitudes are disgusting to those who care. YOU are NOT ONLY getting a game drive, you are getting 3 separate live streaming cams with sound, on that ONE WildEarth video cam window. It is NOT the DJUMA CAM..as you all still insist on calling it. We have something to view on the cam at almost any and every hour of daylight at that location. I challenge anyone else, any website out there, to give you what WildEarth is giving you at no cost to you!
Only a few of you took the time to follow the original instructions which led you through the Telkom Media site, (which is the website carrying WildEarth cam).
Djuma has their VuyatelaGowrie cam on their website. It has nothing to do with the WildEarth production company that is filming on their reserve . Their employees and staff do NOT work for the WildEarth cam. And anyone who says so is terribly misinformed.
Djuma Reserve’s website has their own camera, their own power supply and their own website and thier own bandwidth supply.
WildEarth/TV is a totally separate business producing the cam that you see on their video cam window.That video cam is carried on the Telkom Media site, one of their clients. WildEarth has their own power supply , their own bandwidth, their own cameras and Tech and other staff and soon their own distribution network thruout the world will be available.
the Djuma staff had nothing to do with the WildEarth video cam. And anyone who posts that they do, i repeat, is terribly misinformed.
Those of you who took the time to get to the WildEarth cam thru the original directions..know the entire story to be read on the Telkom/entertainmentafrica site as they led you to the cam window. But those who only were given an URL to the cam from their friends never saw/read the whole story or the TRUTH behind what you are viewing. You click on an URL and demand the best . A very few of you are unbelievably naive, you believe everything that is posted to the several outside forums where this WildEarth cam is being discussed. Go and seek out the truth for yourselves. and consider the source on each post that you read. This WildEarth cam has been LIVE since 27 April and it took almost a year to build the infrastructure needed to bring this to you. (And the nerve of one person who posted to the Africam /Djuma WildEarth cam discussion topic on today, the 12th, that they rushed to get it online, that they took a camera and put it on a jeep and away they went. ) Just proved their ignorance of what has and is going on . still don’t know what is going on because you don’t read the information provided to you. The truth about this whole WildEarth cam is, also, right here on this WE Blog, have you read it? including the WildEarth announcement and description from their opening day post back in April?
and now if i were one of you who is staying connected round the clock and bragging that cutting us off/resetting the server doesn’t help..that they are able to get right back online with the video cam..I would start getting concerned about ever see the cam again.
And who am I? i have volunteered continuously since back in 1998 to help any website to get any cam online and keep it there for the enjoyment and education that i firmly believe has helped to inform and educate people around the world about Africa, its people and it’s wildlife. and those websites include the original africam and every owner or group of owners since that time.and also the WildCam site, and the Current africam site when it first was purchased in 2004 and which i call ‘AfriCam VI’ for the 6th owner who follows the other 5 owners and/or groups of owners in the past.
And i am only one of many volunteers out there in cyberspace who have done the same. They helped and used their time to get these cams and supported them to keep them online for you all to see and enjoy and keep people informed thru emails and messageboards/forums/blogs/bomas about the cams.
and to ‘Anonymous’..you are part of a huge cammer community, some of whom..about 100+ longtime cam supporters , that i know of personally, are still out there watching the cams. Just because they aren’t on forums or bomas or blogs posting, doesn’t mean they aren’t out there watching the cam also…
regards,
Elaine
13 June, 2007
I managed to get to see my first drive (this morning CA time) and despite the best efforts of WE, there were a few glitches. Never mind. At least I got to connect for the drive for the 1st time in weeks and for that I am truly grateful.
ps I think WE has made it fair now to everybody. I find it hard to reason why somebody would hog the stream when they’re not at their computer. If you have 2 hours to sit and click then you should have 2 hours to sit and watch.
wow these afri cam people are just so rude! i see they are still trying to hog the feed for themselves and the hell with everyone else. they are so selfish!
heres what is posted at their forum
==========================
Aquila
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 1771
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:09 am Post subject:
——————————————————————————–
kb7get wrote:
Roy wrote:
kb7get wrote:
What are they doing? Announcing over the feed that they keep delaying it?
Yes
Guess I need to fire up all systems here and try to keep them all connected 24/7. If they are not going to do the bump at the normal times so you can try and connect then. Why bother to log off and leave it open for others when your not viewing.. You try to play their game and be fair about sharing and where does it get you???
Hard to play their game as there are no rules. LOL
=========================
thread topic is here
http://www.africam.com/boma/viewtopic.php?t=4792&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=270
I for one am very happy about what i can see. Only because I know I would never be able to go there and see it in person so whenever I can get on there It makes me happy. You are all doing a superb job and I would just like to say keep up the excellent work.
I don’t get it either. You’re able to connect if you try hard enough. Before the videoserver reset thing now, I usually started clicking 2 hours before the drive and I NEVER missed a drive. If you don’t have the patience to start clicking early enough, then you can not blame WE for having such less slots.
In the end you decide yourself if you will be on the drive or not, and for that you don’t have to connect your pc to it all day.
Why don’t you charge a small subscription fee to watch this cam. I for one would pay something if it meant that I could get on board and watch it. Some of us actualy log on to see the animals at the WH, not just the game drive.
Wow, some of you people sure do complain alot. You should be happy that this is even being done and its FREE!!! Geeze, I could see getting mad if you were paying for it, but no one here is paying these guys to go out 2x’s a day 7 days a week to show US the african wildlife. Maybe before you complain you should think about it.
You guys do a wonderful job out there in the bush and I thank you for letting us see the wonderful things out there!
Hats off to the wildearth team!!!
I have greatly enjoyed the drives on the rare occasions when I have been able to connect. Increased capacity would be welcome. Thinking that only 80 people world-wide would be interested has proven short-sighted.
It would be helpful, if at the end of a drive, Pieter and Nick would post the species seen on your blog. As the audio transmission is spotty,identifications are not always heard. It would be interesting to know the species, particularly the birds and the smaller animals, that have been seen.
Thank you for providing this insight into African wildlife.
I hope you get this game drive cam sorted out soon. I have been watching the afternoon drive since the beginning, now I can’t get the cam up on screen at all.
There’s alot of people at the Africam forum that stayed logged on 24/7 using the excuse they must record videos for the unlucky. I think those are the ones that should be logged off just before the drive starts.
It’s unfair that us “unlucky” people must miss out on such a wonderful event.
i tried for 5 weeks to get on, I try every day, it was never a succes and it is very frustrating
heres a good suggestion by an africam forum member!
“lighthouse
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 727
Location: pa,.usa
Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:40 am Post subject:
——————————————————————————–
i have been reading about the new “policy” and i think it stinks, i got logged on for the first time about 8:40 est., i was looking at the dam plus reading post, and checking out on you tube what i missed the last few days, i got booted off, i then clicked for 20 min. got back on for 10 and just got booted again, i hate to say but all this new policy is going to do is make a lot more people angry, there idea for these sites is to generate interest in there resorts, well if i would ever get enough money to go there, i would never pick djuma i have not been able to get on alot too, but i don’t complain, its life. if they really want to be fair, take the game drive off until they are fully able to handle the load! of course this is just my take on it. sorry don’t want to make enimies, but this is insane!”
i feel the same way as this person, its insane trying to connect and some people have suffered medical problems with their hands clicking away trying to get on and now they’ll never be able to watch again because of the carpal tunnel.
i know you people meant good but what youre doing is wreaking havoc every day!
“Soon we will have a content distribution network (CDN) which will enable many more viewers to access our game drives on a daily basis.”
What does “soon” mean? A few days? A week? A month? What’s the holdup?
At last I managed to get connected this morning and see something. Obviously resetting the server works. How about a server reset every three hours until you manage to get the 1000 connections working? That would be long enough for most people and give others a far better chance of being able to enjoy your site.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! At last the 80 slots will be on a level playing field.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you!!!!!
One suggestion is can you reset it maybe an hour before the drive? Many of us are watching sunrise before the drive or watching animals & it will be disappointing to lose out in the middle of viewing. I know people are leaving their connection all the time and that is inconsiderate, but keep us honest users in mind please and dont reset too close to the drive. It is like we are being punished because of the other people. :)
Too bad there are only 80 slots. I have Never been able to watch your game drives, even for a brief moment. Makes it hard to believe that there is truly such a thing! I know I am about to give up altogether since it is very frustrating to try and never succeed!
It will not be surprising if Africam manages to take cams on their game drives (as you do) and give us unlimited ‘slots’ to watch before you manage to get your extra
1000 slots. Seems you did not plan your venture well.
Would you please tell Helen to zoom in on small mammals and birds? A distance shot is useless, they just look like a blob. If Jan and Pieter can do it, why can’t she?